Latest in 61st Berlin Film Festival

The agency has decided to wait until the Fall before selling North American rights to Madonna's W.E. following its Berlin preview on Saturday. It may either start negotiating at Venice or Toronto, I'm told. Optimum Releasing, the British arm of Studio Canal, is close to taking UK rights from sales agent IM Global…

FilmNation has taken overseas rights to Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter, which Sony Pictures Classics bought early on at the Sundance Film Festival. Michael Shannon stars opposite Jessica Chastain as a man haunted by his dreams who obsessively starts building a storm shelter in his backyard. But what he can't tell those…

Morgan Creek Productions is doing well in selling offshore rights to Tupac, the biopic of rapper Tupac Shakur that will begin production by the summer with Antoine Fuqua directing. One might think a film about an American rapper who died in 1996 might be a tough sell outside the U.S. Not so. Morgan Creek has sold…

Deadline told you February 3 that The Weinstein Company was acquiring domestic distribution on the Ralph Fiennes-directed Coriolanus, and TWC and Icon International have just announced the deal. Here’s the official release: New York, NY, February 11, 2011 – The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has…

February 11, 2011 (Berlin, Germany) – Writer/Producer/Director James Wan has closed an eight (8) picture deal with the Icon Entertainment International (IEI), it was announced today by Wan and Hugo Grumbar, Managing Director (International) for Icon, at the Berlin Film Festival. Wan who is best known for creating and…

Strand Releasing has taken U.S. rights to Paddy Considine's feature debut Tyrannosaur from sales agent Protagonist. The film won 2 awards for directing and acting at Sundance following its premiere in Park City. Optimum Releasing has already picked Tyrannosaur up for the UK. Brit actor Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum…

Magnolia Pictures has secured North American rights to the French thriller from Gaumont. It’s directed by Fred Cavayé and stars Gilles Lellouche as a man who races against time through Paris to save his pregnant, kidnapped wife. It also stars Roschdy Zem, Gerard Lanvin and Elena Anaya.

EXCLUSIVE: Echo Lake Entertainment president Doug Mankoff and Blue Ice Entertainment’s Steven Silver  and Neil Tabatznik have unveiled Blue Lake Entertainment, a fund to finance films with budget $10 million and higher. The 8-figure fund is backed by private investors in the US and Canada and will invest in up to four…

Summit Entertainment acquired feature rights to The Perks of Being A Wallflower, with novelist Stephen Chbosky adapting and directing his novel. Emma Watson and Logan Lerman star in a coming of age story of a 15-year old crushing hard on a girl while he deals with his best pal’s suicide and other emotional issues…

Madonna, the pop singer-turned-director, will be in Berlin this Saturday to present footage from her W.E. to overseas distributors. Sales agent IM Global will be screening clips to around 200 invited guests but has held back from making any pre-sales until now. This is a tactic which IM Global used successfully before…

The Kevin Spacey/Jeremy Irons/Demi Moore financial drama joins 22 films in total, 16 of which will be competing for the Silver Bear. Unknown, the new Liam Neeson thriller with January Jones, will premiere Out of Competition at next month's 61st Berlin Film Festival. That's only fitting considering the Warner Bros…